


Proposal

by Nomme_dePlume



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-30 00:59:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13939188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomme_dePlume/pseuds/Nomme_dePlume
Summary: Sakura rolled her eyes. “Geez, how romantic. I don’t know what Naruto sees in you sometimes. No clue why he wants to marry you at all.”Sasuke’s retort froze in his throat while Ino hissed out Sakura’s name in anger. Sakura blushed and tried to back-pedal, but her agitated state made it clear to Sasuke that she hadn’t just made it up.Leaning forward, he motioned for Sakura to shut up and calmly asked, “What are you talking about?”





	Proposal

Naruto sighed quietly as the apartment door closed behind him. His flight had been delayed for hours, so he found himself home at a God-awful hour in the morning and trying not to wake Sasuke. The bastard was cranky enough when he got a full night’s sleep; Naruto had no desire to tangle with him when his beauty sleep was interrupted.

He smiled as he made his way into the apartment and settled his luggage out of the way. Who was he kidding? He pretty much loved everything about the grouchy bastard, which was probably why he’d spent days on end with Sasuke’s brother searching for the perfect engagement ring just before he’d left town. Naruto couldn’t imagine his life without Sasuke anymore. All that was left was to find the perfect moment to pop the question.

He was so excited at the prospect of being legally bound to Sasuke he could practically feel the question bubble up behind his teeth every time he spoke to his boyfriend over the past few weeks. He wouldn’t be surprised if he asked Sasuke to marry him over coffee in the morning.

Naruto pulled at his tie as he walked down the hallway. The door to their bedroom was slightly ajar, and as he pushed it open slowly to reduce the sound of it sliding over the carpet, something moved on the bed and twin dots of silver catching the moonlight from the window pinned him in place. Then a soft purring greeted him, and he smiled as he continued into the room.

“Hey, baby girl,” he whispered softly as he scratched the cat softly on the head as he passed the bed. His eyes quickly flicked over to Sasuke, his boyfriend wrapped up in the blankets and curled almost into a ball on Naruto’s side of the bed. He smiled at the sight, huffing out an amused breath as he moved on to the closet. Sasuke refused to admit that he hated the cold weather, but with Christmas just around the corner, this nightly theft of blankets had been happening more and more often.

Naruto carefully removed his dress clothes, quietly hanging them back up in the closet and pulling on a soft pair of drawstring pants to wear to bed. He climbed into bed on Sasuke’s side and slowly began to unravel the cocoon Sasuke had built around himself, spreading the blankets and sheets back out. As he finally relaxed into the pillows, he rolled to the side and carefully brought Sasuke into the circle of his arms, replacing the blankets’ warmth with his own.

Sasuke stirred slightly, and his lashes fluttered against his cheeks. “Naruto?” he mumbled sleepily as he snuggled closer into Naruto’s body.

“Hey, babe,” Naruto whispered with a smile. “Sorry to wake you.”

“Hn,” Sasuke breathed out, easily going back to sleep.

Naruto spent a few seconds taking in the sight of Sasuke’s face bathed in moonlight and relaxed in sleep. It was a sight not many could claim to have seen, and Naruto was determined that he would be the last person to ever be able to see Sasuke like this.

His small smile bloomed into a large grin as he thought about the ring tucked away in his desk at work, and he gently pulled Sasuke closer to him, suddenly just wanting to test the words when Sasuke couldn’t hear him.

“Hey, Sasuke,” he whispered. “Marry me.”

Sasuke stirred again. “No,” he breathed out, and Naruto froze.

“Wha-Sasuke?” he stuttered, but Sasuke didn’t twitch or respond, so Naruto was left to believe that the man was still asleep.

He let out a shaky breath. That had shocked him, and if he was honest, the unconscious rejection of his proposal _hurt_. But he wasn’t going to think about that now. He was tired, so he was going to fall asleep, the man he loved held tightly in his arms, and he would deal with this—whatever this was—later.

~*~

Sasuke scowled at his coffee cup as he took in the phone number the barista had scribbled across the top. Just what exactly was it about him that invited others to proposition him like this? It would be annoying even if he _wasn’t_ in a very committed relationship.

Clicking his tongue and pointedly ignoring the barista, Sasuke walked away from the bar and joined Sakura and Ino at their table. He very calmly threw himself down in a huff and pushed his cup onto the table, caring little for the bit of coffee that sloshed out of the small opening of the lid.

“What’s got your panties in a twist?” Ino asked as she scrolled through something on her phone.

“The usual, it seems,” Sakura answered for him as she twisted his cup to see the phone number. “Maybe you should get ‘belongs to Naruto’ tattooed across your forehead.”

He glared at her as Ino snorted and said, “Like that would deter some people.” She typed something on her phone before setting it down and picking up her own coffee. “Okay, I think we’ve finally finished buying gifts.”

“Ugh, thank God,” Sakura groaned as she massaged her temples. “Why does it seem to get harder and harder every year? I think next Christmas I’m just going to give everyone a hearty handshake and a pat on the back.”

Sasuke smirked as he fiddled with the ends of his scarf. “I think the only person who would appreciate that kind of gift would be Naruto.” His smirk smoothed out into a small smile as he thought about his idiot.

“Speaking of, what did you get Naruto?” Sakura asked.

“What does it matter? That moron would be happy with a box of cup ramen.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Geez, how romantic. I don’t know what Naruto sees in you sometimes. No clue why he wants to marry you at all.”

Sasuke’s retort froze in his throat while Ino hissed out Sakura’s name in anger. Sakura blushed and tried to back-pedal, but her agitated state made it clear to Sasuke that she hadn’t just made it up.

Leaning forward, he motioned for Sakura to shut up and calmly asked, “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, she’s talking about nothing, Sasuke,” Ino chimed in hastily, but a harsh glare in her direction had her sighing and rubbing her hands over her face. “Okay, okay. Man, Naruto’s going to kill us.”

Sasuke glanced between the two women; Sakura was blushing and staring down at the table while Ino frowned at her. Sasuke leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, waiting them out. They’d tell him eventually; he’d make sure they didn’t leave until they did.

“Fine!” Ino said, leaning back and crossing her arms in a huff. “Naruto’s going to propose. There.”

Sasuke sat in stunned silence for a moment. Naruto was going to do what now? He swallowed. “How do you know?” he asked quietly.

“Um, he bought a ring,” Sakura offered. “He took Itachi with him and everything.”

Sasuke clenched his jaw; _of course_ his brother knew about it. “Do you know when?”

Sakura and Ino shared a look, probably concerned at his lack of _joy_ at the prospect. “No, we don’t know when, exactly. But with Christmas just around the corner, it could be soon,” Ino offered.

Sasuke nodded. So… _soon_ , then. Sasuke turned his head and glanced outside at the snow-covered bushes and passing cars.

Naruto was going to propose, huh? Sasuke honestly had no idea how to feel about that. He didn’t think he was completely against it, but even he could acknowledge that he wasn’t exactly excited about it either.

There was no doubt that he loved Naruto, but was he ready to be married? Did he even want to be married?

Sighing quietly, Sasuke resigned himself to the inevitability of having Naruto ask. He’d think long and hard about his answer in the meantime. He may not know how he felt about marrying Naruto, but he by no means wanted to lose the man, so his answer was going to be very, very important to both.

~*~

Sasuke was on pins and needles, just waiting for Naruto to pop the question. Christmas came and went without a proposal, as did New Year’s, Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Independence Day, every bank-holiday Monday, and every humdrum day in between. Sasuke still didn’t know what his answer was going to be, but he was starting to go a little crazy just sitting around waiting to be asked.

There were moments, of course, when he was alone with his thoughts and realized that, if he still didn’t know what he would answer after all these months, he clearly didn’t _want_ to get married. But he wasn’t confident in this answer because every time he imagined declining Naruto’s proposal, he would see that expressive face in his mind filling with hurt and sorrow, and he couldn’t imagine doing that to the man he loved.

When these thoughts became overwhelming, Sasuke tried hard to forget about it altogether. Naruto was taking his sweet time proposing, and when Sasuke remembered that, he found himself thinking whatever happened would happen. And whatever that happened to be, he refused to lose Naruto because of it.

And when Sasuke put his mind to something, it unerringly got done, which is how he found himself stunned and frozen on the couch, wrapping paper forgotten in his lap, as he stared at the small velvet box in his hand, his friends gathered around him and looking on in surprised delight.

It was his “birthday gift” from Naruto, and Sasuke’s annoyance at how Naruto was finally proposing in this kind of impersonal way – just handing him a wrapped present and settling back against the couch in apparent nonchalance – was overshadowed by a surprising amount of excitement and anticipation for what was about to happen.

Slowly, with slightly trembling fingers, Sasuke opened the small red box, his breath shaky as the lid peeled back…

…and revealed a pair of gold cufflinks. Beautiful cufflinks that looked to be specially crafted to match the tattoo on the space between his neck and shoulder that Naruto fucking _adored_ … but it wasn’t a ring.

And this wasn’t a proposal.

And Sasuke was shocked at how disappointed he felt about it.

He could feel the discomfort in the room – his friends’ and Naruto’s. He realized he hadn’t spoken for a while, so he cleared his throat as he closed the box and turned a tremulous smile Naruto’s way. “They’re beautiful, Naruto. Thank you. You must have had them specially made.”

Naruto grinned at him in relief. “Yeah! I made some new acquaintances at work who hooked me up with some designers at Gold & Silver Brothers.” He leaned in close to Sasuke’s ear and whispered, “To be honest, they’re more for me, ‘cause every time I see them, I think I’m going to want to pin you against a wall and do… just about anything.”

Sasuke couldn’t help the small shiver that traveled up his back; Naruto just did that to him. But the small heat his lover’s words produced wasn’t enough to overshadow that confusing disappointment that still permeated his being.

“I look forward to it,” he whispered in answer anyway, not wanting Naruto to think he felt anything other than grateful for the thoughtful gift. But he clearly needed a moment before he could turn his attention to the room – to his friends who had known about Naruto wanting to propose – so he placed his hand on Naruto’s knee and squeezed reassuringly as he said, “Excuse me for a moment.”

Naruto frowned in confusion, sharp concern shading his blue eyes, so Sasuke gave him another small smile before standing up and walking to their bedroom. He lightly pulled the door behind him so that it gave him some privacy but didn’t close all the way – an entirely closed door in this house meant someone was _upset_ , and Sasuke by no means wanted to give Naruto that impression.

He didn’t even know _why_ he was so disappointed. Sighing quietly, he moved to the dresser and set the small box on top of it, opening the lid again to look at the cufflinks inside. He hadn’t been lying; they were stunningly beautiful and expertly crafted. Gold  & Silver Brothers was the gold standard in jewelry – no pun intended – and Sasuke found himself wondering what a ring made by their designers would look like.

Found himself wanting such a ring.

It clicked suddenly. Despite months of fretfully believing he didn’t want to marry the man set to propose to him, he realized he’d been anticipating it, _wanting_ it. He _wanted_ Naruto to propose, and he wanted to say _yes_. _That_ was the source of his disappointment.

He could hear the low murmur of conversation from the living room, pulling him from his thoughts. Closing the box, he decided to return to his party and think about how to encourage Naruto to ask later.

As he moved into the hallway, the conversation became clearer, and he paused.

“How long are you going to postpone this, Naruto?” Itachi asked quietly.

“Postpone what?”

“He’s asking when you’re going to propose to Sasuke, Naruto. You’ve had the ring for six months now,” Sakura said, her tone a little snippy.

“How do you know about that?” Naruto sounded both surprised and a little upset.

There was a momentary pause before Sakura answered. “Um, Ino told me.”

“I’m sorry, Naruto!” Ino said hastily; Naruto must have leveled her with one of his infrequent, but no less potent glares. “It slipped out!”

“How do you even know about it?” Naruto was starting to sound angry rather than upset now.

“My apologies, Naruto. I explained to Ino why I had been unavailable for a few afternoons,” Itachi offered calmly. Sasuke knew Naruto would forgive Itachi for blabbing, as Itachi’s morals wouldn’t allow him to lie, even by omission, when confronted with a direct question. Especially from his girlfriend.

“So does everyone know?” Naruto asked a little hesitantly.

“Probably,” Shikamaru offered. “But does that really matter? Itachi does have a good question. Why are you waiting so long to ask Sasuke?”

“I’m… I’m not waiting.”

“Then why aren’t you asking?” Sakura pressed.

Silence – tense and heavy, causing a slight feeling of dread to build inside Sasuke.

“Because I already did,” Naruto answered quietly.

“What?” several people said together.

“What are you talking about, Naruto?” Ino asked, her tone shocked.

Naruto sighed loudly. “I already kind of asked him, and he said no.”

“Explain, Naruto,” Itachi commanded, but it had been said softly and encouragingly.

Naruto sighed again. “Back in December, when I came back from that trip. It was late, so I slipped into bed with Sasuke and just sort of, you know, asked. And he said no.”

Silence, again; Sasuke tried to keep his breathing calm as he racked his brain for a memory of this. He didn’t even remember Naruto coming home that night, just waking up on Naruto’s side of the bed in the morning to find Naruto’s arms around him and his warm body pressed snuggly against Sasuke’s back. It had been… one of the most intense moments of peace and contentment he’d ever felt in his life.

“Naruto, was Sasuke awake when you asked?” Itachi asked calmly, breaking Sasuke from his thoughts.

“Well, not exactly.”

“You idiot!” Sakura hissed. “How could you even-”

“I know!” Naruto cut her off. “I know it’s not really the same as asking. But, when I heard him say no, it just… it just caused a lot of doubt. What if Sasuke really did say no? What we have is so, so good – something I never thought I’d have in my life. Why chance it all because I want something that Sasuke might not?”

“Oh, Naruto…”

“You know what? Let’s… let’s stop talking about it. I love you guys, but it’s between me and Sasuke, right? And since Sasuke doesn’t know, it’s not an issue, okay? We’re fine.” Silence greeted his statement, and he sighed again. “I’m going to step out for a moment, guys. Let Sasuke know I’ll be right back – tell him I went to the store or something.”

Then Naruto’s footsteps sounded across the floor, and the front door opened and closed. Sasuke blinked a small bit of wetness from his eyes and continued into the living room. All eyes turned to look at him.

“Please carry on with the party. There’s cake and wine in the kitchen. I’m going after Naruto.”

Sasuke made his way to the door, and no one moved to stop him. Not that he would have let them keep him from Naruto. He walked quickly down the corridor, forgoing the elevator for the stairs, and exited the lobby of their condo complex. He looked side to side, not quite sure where Naruto might have gone. He’d told everyone to say he went to the store, but Sasuke knew that wasn’t where he’d gone.

There were several places Naruto liked to go when he was upset – the ramen shop, his parents’ house, the park where-

Sasuke turned quickly to his left and practically ran to the park, the one where he and Naruto had first met. Naruto always went there after a fight with him, times when their relationship was… in doubt. Those trips had become less and less frequent over the years, but personalities as different as theirs still clashed every now and again, so Sasuke still found himself going there and picking up his sulking boyfriend sometimes. They’d sit in awkward silence, one of them would apologize – and sometimes it was _Sasuke_ apologizing, contrary to popular opinion – and then they’d go home together.

Sasuke was determined that would happen this time, too.

He ran through the park entrance, his eyes zeroing in on their bench where his idiot blond had first entered his life. And there his idiot blond was, sitting forward, his hands clasped together and hanging down between his thighs. Sasuke paused, trying to get his breathing back under control, and then he walked slowly over to the bench and sat down quietly, close to Naruto, but with some space between them.

Naruto’s head turned the slightest bit in his direction, acknowledging his presence, but he didn’t say anything. Sasuke didn’t really know what to say either. But he knew he had to say something. Rubbing his fingers softly against his pants leg, he cleared his throat.

“This doesn’t look like the store.”

Naruto snorted, slightly amused, and he leaned back against the bench. “How much did you hear?”

“Enough, but I’ve known about the ring since just before Christmas.”

“Ugh, can’t anyone keep a secret anymore?”

Sasuke smirked. “You probably shouldn’t have involved Itachi if that was what you were going for. Rookie mistake.” Naruto didn’t respond to that, so after a moment, Sasuke continued, “So, are you ever planning to ask me?”

Naruto fidgeted, his right leg bouncing up and down. “I want to,” he said quietly. “But you heard: I’m afraid that you don’t want the same.”

Sasuke took a moment to think about how he wanted to answer. “I probably didn’t.” Naruto turned his head to look at him, so he did the same. “I don’t remember that night, the one when you came home from your trip. I don’t doubt your story; maybe I did hear you, and my subconscious supplied the answer that best fit my feelings at the time.”

Naruto blinked and looked away. Sasuke reached for his left hand and squeezed.

“When Sakura and Ino told me that you bought a ring, I honestly didn’t know how to feel about it. I didn’t know if I wanted to be married, but I knew I loved you and didn’t want to lose you. I thought about all the ways I would answer when you asked, but… you never did.”

Naruto squeezed his hand, too, and then turned his body so that he was facing Sasuke, one leg curled up in front of him while the other stayed on the ground. Sasuke scooted closer so that Naruto’s leg touched his thigh.

“Is that… still how you feel?” Naruto asked softly.

Sasuke sighed and looked out at the park landscape. “When I unwrapped that box, I was annoyed that you would choose that way to offer me the ring. And then, when I opened it and it wasn’t the ring… Naruto, I was _so_ disappointed that I surprised myself. I realized that… that I actually _wanted_ the ring.”

He looked back at Naruto and saw the bright, hopeful grin on his stupidly happy face. _Adorable_.

“So,” Naruto drawled, “Should I ask you now?”

Sasuke shook his head slowly. “No,” he added.

Naruto’s smile faded, a bit of confusion and a shade of hurt coloring his eyes.

Sasuke turned his body to face Naruto and reached for Naruto’s other hand and held them both tightly. “I’m going to ask you.” Naruto’s breath hitched as Sasuke leaned forward. “Naruto, will you marry me?”

“Holy shit, Sasuke,” Naruto whispered, his eyes wide.

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow as he smiled.

“Shit,” Naruto breathed out before lunging forward and kissing Sasuke quickly on the lips. “Shit, Sasuke, yes!” he said breathily, going back in for several more kisses.

Sasuke smiled into each of Naruto’s little kisses, and then he let go of Naruto’s hands to grasp his head and tilt it for a fuller, more sensual kiss. It was lazy, yet passionate, and the thought that he was now kissing his _fiancé_ made Sasuke indescribably happy.

He pulled away from Naruto’s lips and brought their foreheads together. “Shall we go home?”

“Yeah,” Naruto breathed out. They stayed together for another minute before rising from the bench and leaving the park hand in hand.

As they walked back to their condo, Sasuke couldn’t help but notice the way Naruto practically skipped at his side. He smirked. “So where’s my ring, Naruto?”

He didn’t expect Naruto’s playful response: “You asked me, bastard. I should be asking you where’s mine!”

Sasuke’s smirk softened into a smile as he squeezed Naruto’s hand. “We’ll go pick it out together.”

Naruto stopped and pulled Sasuke around by their joined hands, leaning down to kiss Sasuke softly. “I love you so fucking much, Sasuke.”

Sasuke smirked again. “I know.” He turned from Naruto and pulled him along as Naruto laughed brightly. It made Sasuke smile, too. He was already so happy with Naruto; marrying the idiot and being with him forever could only make him deliriously so.

That, and the ring could be his “belongs to Naruto” sign to hopefully keep the baristas from hitting on him. Win-win.

 

Owari

**Author's Note:**

> I've read a lot of proposal fics lately, and this idea popped into my head. So I thought I'd write it. It's _technically_ a birthday fic for Sasuke, but since it's only March...  >_>


End file.
